My Body Mass Index?

I'm 19 5ft 10" and have low muscle mass. My BMI says 17.5 kg/m. What does this mean? I'm not what I would call fat at all but I have a little pooch in my stomach but I want to be able to see my abs. Any suggestions? Ya ya I know do sit ups, go running and all of this. What I really want to know is what my BMI reading means. Is it telling me what percent body fat I have or what? Thanks

Public Comments

1. your BMI is a true reading. just go with it. itshows when u r overwieght and what weight to range in along with your height,
2. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person’s weight and height. BMI provides a reliable indicator of body fatness for MOST people and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. However, if you are very muscular, the BMI will not be accurate since the BMI is just a simple equation of weight and height and does not take into consideration that muscle weighs more than fat. To know your actual body fat percentage I would reccomend using a BIA (electrical device) or a skinfold test. Hydrostatic weighting (under water weighing) is the best way to determine body fat, but is rare to find a place able to do this for you.
3. body mass index Body mass index (BMI) or Quetelet Index is a statistical measure of the weight of a person scaled according to height. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing "social physics". Calculation SI units BMI=mass(kg)/height^2(m^2) BMI is defined as the individual's body weight divided by the square of their height. The formulas universally used in medicine produce a unit of measure of kg/m2. Body weight index may be accurately calculated using any of the formulas below. Usage As a measure, BMI became popular during the early 1980s as obesity started to become a discernible issue in prosperous Western society. BMI provided a simple numeric measure of a person's "fatness" or "thinness", allowing health professionals to discuss over- and under-weight problems more objectively with their patients. However, BMI has become controversial because many people, including physicians, have come to rely on its apparent numerical "authority" for medical diagnosis – but that has never been the BMI's purpose. It is meant to be used as a simple means of classifying sedentary (physically inactive) individuals with an average body composition.[1] For these individuals, the current value settings are as follows: a BMI of 18.5 to 25 may indicate optimal weight; a BMI lower than 18.5 suggests the person is underweight while a number above 25 may indicate the person is overweight; a BMI below 17.5 may indicate the person has anorexia or a related disorder; a number above 30 suggests the person is obese (over 40, morbidly obese). For a given height the BMI is proportional to weight; for example, if body weight increases by 50%, BMI increases by 50%. For a given body shape and given density, the BMI is proportional to height--if all body dimensions increase by 50%, the BMI increases by 50%. This tendency for taller people to have higher BMIs is partially offset by the fact that many taller people are not just "scaled up" short people, but rather tend to have narrower frames in proportion to their height. [2] Accuracy The BMI is meant to broadly categorize populations for purely statistical purposes. As noted, its accuracy in relation to actual levels of body fat is easily distorted by such factors as fitness level, muscle mass, bone structure, gender, and ethnicity. People who are mesomorphic tend to have higher BMI numbers than people who are endomorphic, because they have greater bone mass and greater muscle mass, respectively, than do endomorphic individuals. Similarly, an ectomorphic individual could conceivably receive an unhealthily low reading, when in fact his body type makes him naturally thin no matter what he eats. Ectomorphs can also obtain healthy readings even when their body fat percentage is higher than recommended, as their low lean mass will lower the BMI. People with short stature tend to have lower BMI. Therefore they should use a lower cut-off value for obesity diagnosis.[2] The same applies to older people, whose reduced muscle mass can hide additional body fat without increasing BMI. BMI categories A frequent use of the BMI is to assess how much an individual's body weight departs from what is normal or desirable for a person of his or her height. The weight excess or deficiency may, in part, be accounted for by body fat (adipose tissue) although other factors such as muscularity also affect BMI significantly (see discussion below and overweight). Human bodies rank along the index from around 15 (near starvation) to over 40 (morbidly obese). This statistical spread is usually described in broad categories: underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese and morbidly obese. The particular BMI values used to demarcate these categories varies based on the authority, but typically a BMI of less than 18.5 is considered underweight and may indicate malnutrition, an eating disorder, or other health problems, while a BMI greater than 25 is considered overweight and above 30 is considered obese. These ranges of BMI values are valid only as statistical categories when applied to adults, and do not predict health. Thresholds Given the reservations detailed below concerning the limitations of the BMI as a diagnostic tool for individuals, the following are the definitions of BMI categories for adults used by the CDC[3] and the WHO[4] BMI Weight Status Below 18.5 Underweight 18.5 – 24.9 Normal 25.0 – 29.9 Overweight 30.0 – 39.9 Obese 40 and above Morbidly obese The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1994 indicates that 59% of American men and 49% of women have BMIs over 25. Extreme obesity — a BMI of 40 or more — was found in 2% of the men and 4% of the women. There are differing opinions on the threshold for being underweight in females, doctors quote anything from 18.5 to 20 as being the lowest weight, the most frequently stated being 19. A BMI nearing 15 is usually used as an indicator for starvation and the health risks involved, with a BMI <17.5 being one of the DSM criteria for the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa.
4. Category BMI range - kg/m2 Starvation less than 15 Underweight from 15 to 18.5 Ideal from 18.5 to 25 Overweight from 25 to 30 Obese from 30 to 40 Morbidly Obese greater than 40